Monday, June 28, 2010

in chicago, it's hot. and humid. oh so humid, but that doesn't stop me from wanting to make treats and i told a friend i would make a treat for a bridal shower this weekend, because i couldn't pass up the opportunity. despite my love affair with baked goods, there was no way i was turning on the oven this weekend. so i began searching for no-bake pie recipes instead, but most of them had crusts that required baking. what's that about? a pie with a baked crust just isn't a no-bake pie...
because i was taking this treat to a party (one with a florida theme), i made individual pies, each the size of a cup cake. the pies are frozen and made with a raw crust, a layer of lime curd, a layer of whipped cream (a coconut and dairy blend), and topped off with a sprinkling of toasted coconut flakes and lime zest.

crust from wholefamilyfare (i doubled this recipe to use as a crust bottom for 48 cup cake sized pies, so it should suffice for 24):

combine the coconut and walnuts in the bowl of a food processor. once it resembles a coarse meal, add the dates and salt and continue to process until it sticks together when pressed between two fingers. take the mixture and press it into foil cupcake liners or tart tins. i pressed the mix onto just the bottom of the liners, but if you want the pie to have more of a crust, you could press the mix directly into your tin and skip the liner altogether. i cannot, however, attest to how easy it is to remove them.

combine the egg yolks, sugar, and lime zest in a medium sized saucepan, and whisk until smooth. add the lime juice and butter and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 7 to 9 minutes, making sure to avoid boiling the mixture. pour the hot lime curd through a strainer into a glass bowl and place plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a crusty layer from forming. refrigerate the curd until it's cold and thick, for at least 3 hours, but up to 3 days.
when the curd is cold, you may distribute it evenly amongst the tarts or liners. for liners, this is about 2 tablespoons each. place the crusts with curd in the freezer to harden, about 2 hours.

open the can of coconut milk and scoop out the cream that has situated itself above the milk. mix the coconut cream with the heavy cream and vanilla extract in a large bowl. using a handheld mixer, blend the creams. blend in the confectioner's sugar in 2 batches while mixing. i was not able to get my creams to hold soft peaks, but the mixture did thicken, and because i froze the pies, this wasn't really a setback. once you've gotten the mixture as stiff as you think it will get, or when it holds peaks, spoon it over the frozen lime curd layer. i used a little under 1/4 cup of the cream for each liner. when all of the coconut milk is distributed, return the pies to the freezer and allow to freeze for at least 3 hours.

note: you want to make the whipped creams once the lime curd layer is frozen, so that when it is poured upon the curd, it remains a separate layer.